“We hold that a defendant has the right to insist that counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsel’s experienced-based view is that confessing guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty,” Ginsburg wrote.

“Guaranteeing a defendant the right ‘to have the assistance of counsel for his defense,’ the Sixth Amendment so demands. With individual liberty—and, in capital cases, life—at stake, it is the defendant’s prerogative, not counsel’s, to decide on the objective of his defense: to admit guilt in the hope of gaining mercy at the sentencing stage, or to maintain his innocence, leaving it to the state to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

McCoy was sentenced to death in January 2012 for the May 2008 murders of the son, mother and stepfather of his estranged wife. McCoy’s parents hired Larry English to represent McCoy, paying him $5,000 borrowed against their car title.

McCoy refused his lawyer’s suggestion to accept a plea deal, and objected when English informed him he planned to concede guilt. The lawyer maintained the concession was necessary because he had an ethical duty to save McCoy’s life.

English had argued that McCoy was guilty, but he was suffering from serious emotional issues that interfered with his ability to make rational decisions.

McCoy had testified that a drug trafficking ring headed by law enforcement was responsible for the murders and had framed him.